If men who have been training for some time with weights also do time-restricted feeding, they lose body fat but do not sacrifice muscle mass. The benefits of time-restricted feeding are less evident among female strength athletes, sports scientists at Texas Tech University report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Study
The researchers divided 40 active women, 18-30 years old, who were used to training 2-4 a week with weights, into 3 groups. For 8 weeks, all women ate the same amount of energy and protein every day, and trained in an identical way.

Oxygen exposure rate [OCR] increased due to exposure to caffeine. The cells used up more oxygen.

The women in the two experimental groups did time-restricted feeding [TRF]. They ate between twelve at noon and eight in the evening. The women in the control group ate whenever they wanted [CON].

One experimental group took a supplement with 1 gram of HMB three times a day [so the women took a total of 3 grams of HMB a day]. The other experimental group took a placebo.

Results
It appeared that women in the time-restricted feeding groups lost more fat mass than women in the control group, and that supplementation with HMB enhanced this effect - but this trend was not statistically significant.

With regard to body composition, all three groups performed equally well. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups.

The same also applied to physical performance. Regarding jump height, maximum strength and the number of reps-to-failure that the women could make, the three groups performed equally well.

Conclusion

"In summary, similar gains in fat free mass, skeletal muscle hypertrophy, and muscular performance can be achieved with dramatically different feeding schedules provided that energy and protein intake are similar during a progressive resistance training program", vatten de onderzoekers hun bevindingen samen. "This finding may be partially attributable to the healthy, active population and lack of energy restriction relative to habitual intake."

"Due to their potential to favorably influence body composition without compromising physical performance, additional examination of various intermittent fasting protocols in both sedentary and active populations is warranted."

Slimming without effort? Breakfast later, dine earlier
If you want to lose weight in a way that costs little self-discipline, then breakfast one and a half hours later than you are used to, and use your evening meal just one and a half hours earlier than you are used to.